Fifteen Blinks

What is “Fifteen Blinks”?

Fifteen Blinks is a new series on Write Lara Write consisting of writing lessons and writing assignments. These assignments can be applied to poetry or short prose, fiction or nonfiction.

Why “Fifteen Blinks”?

The average person blinks 20–30 times per minute. However, when reading something particularly interesting, a person blinks only 3–5 times per minute. The idea behind Fifteen Blinks is that your finished piece (a “Fifteen Blinker”) should be interesting enough and short enough for a reader to read it in 3–5 minutes, blinking approximately 15 times. Rough guidelines? About 300–800 maximum words for prose, or fewer than 30 lines for poetry.